How Long Do Edibles Take to Kick In?

The high you get from edibles is different than the one from vaping or smoking a joint. Most of the time, edibles are longer-lasting and more powerful, but, how long do edibles take to kick in? If you’re a “well worth the wait” type of person, a wait isn’t a big deal. If you’re into immediate ganja gratification, this can be annoying. Still, knowing what to expect may help the process.

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In general, there are several factors that influence the latency of edibles. Some of these include:

Whether or not you’ve eaten: We’ve all been those people – those people who drink on an empty stomach only to spend the evening throwing up raspberry schnapps and vowing to never touch alcohol again (and by “never again” we really mean “for at least sixteen or so hours.”) Drinking on an empty stomach makes the alcohol hit faster and harder; edibles are the same. You’ll wait longer to feel the effects of a pot brownie if you eat one after spending the entire day at the local cheese festival.

And yet, edibles should be consumed after eating. Most budtenders recommend you treat marijuana as you would narcotics and never take them on an empty stomach. Edibles without food probably won’t make you sick, but they might make for an experience you’re not entirely prepared for. If you’ve never done edibles before, carbs are your friend (who am I kidding, carbs are always your friend. Always).

Your metabolism: Some people have a metabolism so fast that they can eat whatever they want and never gain a pound (let’s all unite in hating those people). Others have metabolisms that rival those of sloths. Whether yours is fast, slow, or somewhere in between majorly influences latency period. Simply, people with a fast metabolism will feel effects sooner than those with a slow one.

Your tolerance: Another thing that plays a role is how tolerant you are to cannabis. If you’ve never consumed it before, or have only smoked sporadically, the edibles will hit quicker than they will for marijuana mavens. If you’ve smoked so much ganja that you’ve named your lung lobes Cheech and Chong, you might be waiting a bit for your high to get here. Bring a magazine.

Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the smoking to eating translation isn’t always a direct one

If you’ve never eaten edibles, they’re likely to be potent, even if you spent your entire college career with your nose in a bong instead of a book.

How much THC you’ve taken: Edibles are designed to be consumed in segments – if you buy a marijuana cookie with 100 milligrams of THC, don’t eat it all at once. Most people agree that ten milligrams is a good starting point (though some people may need to go down to five if they’re new to pot). Seasoned users can start with higher doses, but everyone should take edibles incrementally. Rather than eating the entire cookie, take a tenth of it.

Wait an hour or so. And then take more if needed.

How much THC you’ve actually taken: Of course, the amount of THC in edibles varies widely; it’s difficult to make the cannabis homogenous in muffins or noodles or whatever you’re consuming. Homemade goodies are well known for being crapshoots: one brownie may have a ton of THC while another from the same batch may have very little. But even edibles sold commercially suffer from this problem. It’s not as drastic, but it does exist. In lab studies, most edibles tend to have less THC than they advertise, not more (sorry about that).

Other things play a role too. Your gender, your size, and your body fat influence how quickly edibles hit. The relationship between fat cells and pot is a complicated one that’s not fully understood. Yet, a higher mass generally means a higher metabolism: someone who weighs 300 pounds burns more calories than someone who weighs half that. Thus, men, since they tend to be bigger than women and have higher metabolisms, often feel effects earlier.

How Long is Too Long?

The average time from ingestion to liftoff is about forty-five minutes to an hour, though some people may not feel much for two hours

Newbies beware, you should wait an hour before taking more to avoid ingesting too much THC. You’ll start to get a good idea the more you consume edibles, but remember the rule of thumb: you can always take more marijuana, but you can’t take less of it.

Edibles and Overdosing

It’s well established that cannabis isn’t a drug people overdose on (as long as it’s pure cannabis and not laced with drain cleaner or some other drug). This inability to overdose is as true for edibles as it is joints. However, there are reports of people getting so high that they engage in risky behavior that proves tragically fatal. Most of the time, this involves edibles.

That’s why going slow is so important; prepare yourself for the high by getting there in baby steps and, if it’s your first time, eat in a safe environment. This doesn’t mean you need to savor your sour gummies inside a padded room, but certainly don’t pick anywhere dangerous. Take, wait, and remain patient; your high will find your eventually.

How Long Do Edibles Take to Kick In? was last modified: September 7th, 2018 by Jenn Keeler

Jenn Keeler is a freelance writer and illustrator specializing in humorous lifestyle articles. She is one of the few people on earth actually using an English degree. Her heart belongs to the Denver Broncos and her husband. In that order.